Panthers vs. Saints: Keys to the game for offense, defense

Panthers vs. Saints: Keys to the game for offense, defense

This week the Carolina Panthers have a rare chance to ruin one of their division rivals’ seasons in September.

Heading into Week 3, the utterly defenseless New Orleans Saints are 0-2 and desperate for a win. One more loss will drop their chances of making the playoffs to the realm of not-quite-mathematically-impossible but also definitely not going to happen.

If the Panthers want to send the Saints packing early this year, here’s three keys to the game for offense and defense when they host them on Sunday afternoon.

Offense

1. Stop letting Cam Newton get beat up

Last week Carolina was generally awful when it came to pass protection, allowing Newton to get sacked six times and hit many more.

Trai Turner and Andrew Norwell did well as usual, but Tyler Larsen, Matt Kalil and Daryl Williams have to step up and do a better job of keeping the franchise quarterback off the turf going forward.

The Saints pass rush is not nearly as good as Buffalo’s, so there’s no excuse for allowing multiple sacks this time around.

2. Establish a ground game

One of the many troubling parts of Carolina’s offense so far this year has been their inability to run the ball efficiently. Through two games, the Panthers are averaging just 2.9 yards per carry, which ranks No. 30 in the NFL. They’ve also yet to score a rushing touchdown.

Jonathan Stewart and Christian McCaffrey have done about as well as they can given the situation, so don’t blame them.

Part of the problem has been due to bad run blocking at certain spots along the offensive line. Part of it has been some suspect play selection, which brings us to our last key for the offense.

3. Call better plays

It’s hard to lay it out any simpler than this. So far this season, offensive coordinator Mike Shula has called a tepid, tame kind of game and it’s one of the reasons they have struggled so much. He needs to be more inventive and aggressive to put his play-makers in the position to succeed.

Shula has plenty of weapons to work with and he’s going against the worst defense in football this week. If he can’t find a way to put up at least 25 points on New Orleans, he should start to feel some heat.

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Defense

1. Contain Michael Thomas

Drew Brees has had a rotating cast of solid receivers through the years that he’s managed to turn into superstars.

It looks like the next one is second-year wide receiver Michael Thomas, who torched the Panthers defense last season. He caught all 10 of his targets for a total of 146 yards and a touchdown. Bracketing him is not the worst idea but James Bradberry and Daryl Worley have to improve their one on one coverage against him.

2. Target the backup tackles

One area Carolina should be able to take advantage of is their edge rushers against New Orleans’ offensive tackles. Terron Armstead and Zach Strief have been ruled out, leaving rookie Ryan Ramczyk to start at right tackle and Andrus Peat on the blindside.

Steve Wilks should let Julius Peppers, Mario Addison, Charles Johnson and the rest dial it up and get after Brees more than usual.

3. Keep them one-dimensional

You’re never going to fully shut down Brees’ passing game, but the Saints are truly dangerous when they’re also able to get their run game going, too. So far they haven’t been able to do it, as they’re averaging just 3.7 yards per carry and have yet to run for a touchdown, as well.

Getting ahead early and keeping New Orleans’ offense one-dimensional will be critical to keep the win streak going.